Registration opens for Music & Well-Being Conference

The MASARA Research Niche Entity at the School of Music, NWU will present the first International Conference on Music & Well-Being from 6-10 August 2013 at the Conservatory in Potchefstroom. This conference is a response to renewed international interest in the role of music in pursuing what Prof David J. Elliott calls “a life of well-being, flourishing, fulfilment, and constructive happiness”. The focus of the conference will therefore be on physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual/religious well-being.

Several paper presentations, roundtable discussions, poster sessions, workshops and music performances will be featured during the conference, and Prof David J. Elliott himself will be one of the keynote speakers. Other presenters include well-known experts in this field: Prof June Boyce-Tillman (University of Winchester, UK), Prof Johan Cilliers (US), Prof Virginia Davids (UCT), Prof Karendra Devroop (UNISA), Dr John Habron (Coventry University, UK), Prof Anri Herbst (UCT), and Prof Hetta Potgieter (NWU).

Registration for the conference is now open and early-bird registration (with reduced fees) closes on 14 June 2013. Considerable discounts are also available to students who wish to attend the conference. For further information, contact Ms Hannelie Viviers at tel. (018) 299-4457 / e-mail: hannelie.viviers@nwu.ac.za or visit the conference website at www.musicwellbeing.co.za .

The research entity Musical Arts in South Africa: Resources and Applications (MASARA) was founded in 2008 in the Faculty of Arts on the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University. It focuses on selected music cultures in South Africa, with particular reference to Tswana and other local music cultures. MASARA is a Swahili female name meaning “joy” – a term which aptly describes the affective value of musical performance.